Clip for sinuous furniture spring



Ju y 1953 E. e. KRAKAUER ,3 ,1

cu? FOR smuous FURNITURE spams Filed Sept. 6, 1956 INVENTOR.

.9- Edwin filfmlrauer ,8 w /4 /7 20 24 A amvz'y United States PatentCLIP FOR SINUOUS FURNITURE SPRING Edwin G. Krakauer, Roslyn Heights, N.Y., assignor t0 Kay Manufacturing Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application September 6, 1956, Serial No.608,341

6 Claims. (Cl. 155-179) This invention relates to sinuous springinstallations for furniture and the like and particularly to the clipsfor such springs.

The invention contemplates the provision of a clip readily secured to aspring end and easily and adequately attached to a single staple pre-setinto a frame after the clip is attached to the spring end.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a clip which canreadily be clasped about the cylindrical end of a sinuous spring tograsp said end when the initially open clip is closed, and to engagesubstantially the entire lateral or cylindrical surface of said endadjacent the clip, prior to the fastening of the clip to the frame of anarticle of furniture.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a clip having aslightly resilient bend adapted to be readily reduced in diameter tograsp the greater part of the spring end, the bend subtending an angleconsiderably greater than 180 and terminating in concave indents at itsjunction with the initially diverging flanges of the clip, the indentsbeing spaced apart less than the diameter of the spring end, so thatsaid end may be forced past the indents into'the interior of the bend.

The invention further contemplates the weakening of the bend of the clipby the removal of material therefrom to permit thebend to be easilyreduced in diameter when the flanges are to be brought together and theclip closed.

The invention further contemplates the provision of U-slots in theflanges, adapted to register with each other when the clip is closed,the head of a fixed staple secured in advance to the furniture framewith the staple head projecting slightly above the frame passing throughthe end of the slots when the clip is arranged in place after it hasbeen clasped to the spring, and the legs of the staple entering thesides of the slots when the clip and spring are moved bodily in theproper direction.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the descriptionwhich follows and from the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentaryperspective view of a spring installation, showing in dash-dot lines theinitial position of the closed clip prior to the movement thereof bodilyinto the position wherein it is secured by the staple.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the clip in itsinitial open position and with the spring end forced just past theindents into the bend.

Fig. 3 is a similar view thereof with the spring end in the interior ofthe bend and the flanges about to be closed together in the direction ofthe arrows.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the installation taken on theline 4-4 of Fig. 9 showing the clip bend arranged entirely inside of theframe so that the clip flanges lie flat on the top edge of the frame.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a modified form of the installation showingthe clip bend partly inside of the frame.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a modified form of the clip wherein thesides of the interior tongue are parallel and the tongue end is reducedin thickness.

2,843,192 Patented July 15, 1958 Fig. 7 is a vertical transversesectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1, but showing a modifiedform of the staple.

Fig. 8 is a rear elevational view of a modified form of the clip whereinthe bend is weakened by end slots therein.

Figs. 9 and 10 are similar views of the clip showing modified forms ofthe bend-weakening means.

Fig. 1 l is a vertical sectional view of the clip taken on the line11-11 of Fig. 10.

Referring now to that form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-5 and 9,the clip 12 is illustrated as being made of sheet metal and havingsubstantially identical flat flanges 13 and 14 joined integrally by thebend 15. Said flanges initially diverge outwardly and symmetrically fromthe bend as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, there being an outwardly concaveindent 16 at the junction of the bend with the flange 13 and a similarindent 17 at its junction with the flange 14. The initial distancebetween the indents 16 and 17 is preferably, though not necessarily,slightly less than the diameter of the wire of which the sinuous spring18 is made, while the diameter of the bend 15 is initially greater thanthe diameter of the spring wire. Since the clip is customarily linedthroughout with suitable sounddeadening material such as the clothlining 19 which is somewhat compressible, and since the rather largebend is itself slightly resilient, the spring end 20 can readily beforced past the indents 16, 17, or the indents forced past the springend in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 2, to insert said end into theinterior of the bend 15. The

bend temporarily expands slightly and the lining is sufli-.

ciently compressed to permit such insertion into the position of Fig. 3.Thereafter, the flanges 16 and 17 are closed preferably into contact andinto the position of Fig. 4 by pressing them in the direction of thearrows of Fig. 3 either manually, as when the clip material isrelatively thin, or by means of a suitable tool. Not only are theflanges brought together, but the indents 16, 17 are also brought intopositions adjacent each other, the bend 15 being reduced in diameter bythe described movement of the flanges, thereby to clasp the spring end20 around substantially its entire cylindrical surface: withoutdistortion of the flanges or indents and solely by the reduction indiameter of the bend.

To assure the action described and that the bend is reduced enoughtoclose the clip, said bend is weakened by removing material therefrom orby reducing the thickness thereof along a suitable line such as themiddle line 21 Fig. 9. Or as shown in Fig. 8, the cross section of thebend along the middle line is reduced in area by the opposed slots 22,23 extending toward each other from the respective end edges of thebend. Another way of weakening the bend is by removing materialelsewhere than at the ends as by means of the holes 24 along the innermiddle line of the bend.

Suitable means are provided to secure the clip to the furniture frame25. As shown in Fig. 1, said means comprises the U-shaped staple 26having the head 27 and legs 28. The staple is driven into the frame sothat the under side of the head 27 is spaced above the top surface 29 ofthe frame by an amount slightly less than the combined thickness of theflanges 14 and 13 and the lining 19 and with said head arrangedlongitudinally of the top 29. Cooperating with the staple 26, which hasbeen pre-set as just described in the frame, are U- slots as 30, onethrough each of the flanges 13 and 14, and through the lining. The slotsin the flanges register with each other in the closed position of theclip owing to the symmetrical shape of the clip, the positions of theindents and the uniform reduction in diameter of the bend 15 as the clipis closed. The width of the end part 31 of; the slot 30 is about thesame as the length of and easily passed through the slot end when theclip with the spring end attached thereto is set on the top of theframe. The least width of the slot sides 32, 33 is about equal to thediameter of the staple legs. Between the sides of the slot is left theinterior tongue 34, the side edges of which preferably converge in thedirection toward the end of the slot, the free end 36 of the tonguebeing preferably reduced in thickness as best seen in Fig. 11.

By so tapering the sides of the tongue 34 and thinning its free end, itbecomes relatively easy to slide the tongue under the projecting head 27of the staple and to Wedge the tongue, if desired, tightly under thehead with the staple legs at the outer ends of the slot sides as shownin Fig. l. The spring 18 is usually of the type which isbiased, curledor pre-set on an arc of lesser radius than that which it assumes whenoperative. Consequently, the spring ends are normally urged toward eachother and exert a pull on the clips tending to draw them toward eachother inside of the frame. Such pull aids in sliding the clip into, andmaintaining it in, the secured position thereof.

In addition to tapering the tongue 34, the staple as 37 may have a head38 in the shape of an inverted V as shown in Fig. 7. Such head providesadditional space for the tongue to enter thereunder and aids in certaincases, in the rapid assembly of the clip and the staple. As shown inFig. 6, the tongue 40 has parallel side edges 41, 42 and the tongue tip36 is reduced in thickness to allow its ready entrance into the spaceunderneath the staple head and the final wedging of the tongue in thestaple. Obviously however, the shapes of the slots, tongue, staples,clip bend and flanges may be varied considerably and other obviouschanges may be made in the forms of the invention herein illustrated anddescribed without departing from the spirit of the invention defined inthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A clip for a sinuous spring comprising a generally cylindrical bendacross one end of the clip, said bend extending through an arc of lessthan 360 and more than 180? to provide a pair of parallel spaced apartedges bounding an opening between the edges for the passage between saidedges and through the opening of the end portion of a spring into theinterior of the bend by a movement perpendicular to the axis of thebend, a first flat flange extending from one of the edges away from thebend, a second flat flange extending from the other of the edges awayfrom the bend whereby said flanges are arranged in lateral spacedrelation to each other at the bend and throughout the flanges, theflanges being substantially identical with and coextensive with eachother, each of the flanges having a U-shaped slot therethroughregistering with the U-shaped slot of the other flange when said flangesare brought into face to face contact, said slot forming an integraltongue on the flange between the sides of the slot, both of said flangesbeing adapted to be maintained in face to face contact with each otherand thereby to close the opening between said edges by a single stapleof approximately the same width as that of the slots with the tongues ofboth flanges passing under and in contact with the head of the staple.

2. A clip for a sinuous spring, comprising a pair of initially outwardlydiverging flat flanges each having a U-slot therethrough similar to theU-slot of the other flange and forming an interior tongue on eachflange, the end part of the tongue being tapered, an open bendintegrally joining the inner ends of the flanges, said inner ends beingspaced apart laterally to provide a space throughout the width of theclip at the junction of the flanges with the bend, the inner diameter ofthe bend being initially greater than the said space between the innerendsof the flanges, the bend being reduced in cross sectional area alonga middle line thereof to weaken the bend at said line, and an outwardlyconcave indent at the junction of each edge of the bend with the innerend of a flange, the U-slots of the respective flanges coming intoregistration with each other when the flanges are brought into face toface contact with each other and the edges of the bend are broughttogether to close the space therebetween.

3. The combination with a sinuous wire spring of a clip thereforcomprising a pair of angularly disposed spaced apart substantiallyidentical flanges, a generally cylindrical open bend integrally joiningthe flanges, each edge of the band at the juncture of the bend with aflange being in lateral spaced relation to the other edge of the band toprovide a space between said edges for the passage therethrough and intothe interior of the bend of the end portion of said spring, the bendbeing adapted to receive the end of the spring in the interior thereof,said space being slightly less than the diameter of the end portion ofthe spring, whereby said end portion temporarily spreads the flangesslightly apart when forced into the bend, the inner diameter of the bendbeing initially greater than that of the wire of said spring, said innerdiameter being reduced to cause the bend to clasp the end of the springwhen the flanges are brought into face to face contact with each other.

4. The combination of claim 3, the clip being symmetrical about themiddle line of the bend and the thickness of the material of the bendalong said line being lessened to weaken the bend and to assure movementof both halves of the bend toward each other about said middle line whenthe flanges are brought into face to face contact.

5. The combination of claim 3, each of the flanges having a U-slottherethrough adapted to register with the slot of the other flange whenthe flanges are brought into face to face contact,-said slot forming atongue on the flange, both of said slots being adapted to receive thelegs of a U-shaped staple simultaneously with the tongue underneath andengaging the head of the staple when the flanges are in face to facecontact witheach other.

'6. In a spring installation, a frame, a sinuous wire spring, and meansfor securing the end portion of the spring to the frame comprising aclip clasped about said end portion and a single staple entering theframe and adapted to engage the clip, said clip comprising a .pair ofinitially diverging flat substantially identical flanges each having aU-slot therein formingan interior tongue on each flange ofsubstantiallythe same size as the tongue on the other flange, agenerally cylindrical open bend terminating initially in spaced apartedges integrally joining the inner ends of the flanges, the innerdiameter of the bend being initially greater than the space between saidedges .and also greater than the diameter of the spring wire, said bendbeing sufliciently resilient to permitthe endportion of the spring to beforced past and to temporarily spread said edges apart and thereafter toenter the interior of the bend, the inner diameter of the bend beingreduced to the diameter of the wire to clasp the greater part ofsaid endvportion of the spring when the flanges are brought together into faceto face contact throughout, said staple having a pair of spaced apartlegs integrally joined by a head, the legs of the staple passing throughthe respective sides of the slots and the tongues of the flanges passingunder the head of the staple, said head maintaining the flanges incontact and also maintaining the edges ofthe bend closed against eachother.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,754,921 Warren Apr. 15, 1930 2,215,373 Krakauer Sept. 17, 19402,306,150 Asaro Dec. 22, 1942

